1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing method and a related apparatus, and more particularly, to an image processing method and a related apparatus capable of separating texts and figures in an input image.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When a scanner captures an image data, if a text part of the image data can be detected and printed with pure black ink while the other parts are processed with other printing settings, not only can a quality and efficiency of the captured image be greatly improved, but also a readability and a clarity of the image data can be enhanced. In addition to adopting edge detection to derive text parts, conventional text/figure separation techniques also utilize chroma detection, screen detection and complicated filters, etc., to rule out a non-text figure part. However, due to the large amount of calculation and hardware involved (such as filters), conventional edge detection techniques are expensive and costly. Therefore, how to separate text and figures in an input image quickly and efficiently is still a major issue in this field.
In addition, due to a limitation of printing hardware, the printed images are usually susceptible to errors and noise from half-tone processing, insufficient resolution, and digitization, leading to issues such as moire patterns, insufficient sharpness at text edges, insufficient dynamic range and high output noise. Therefore, how to solve the aforementioned problems with an easy and economic method is a primary goal in this field.